The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Gritty Madison sees off Fitch
When the moment arrives for Madison to have to dig deep and see out a result, as was the case Oct. 22 for a Division I sectional final against visiting Austintown-Fitch, two facets are firmly in its favor.
The Blue Streaks’ regular-season strength of schedule ensures they are prepared for any and all eventualities.
And their play in the defensive third can be classified as a flex as well, a strong suit that was never more evident than with Fitch pushing for an equalizer.
In turn, the proverbial road hit a dead end for the Falcons and will continue south for Madison deeper into the postseason.
Katie Frania had a first-half strike, and Haylee Winfield contributed a match-icer in the final minute for a 2-0 victory in D-I’s Northeast 3 District.
The Blue Streaks (9-5-3) will travel to venerable Akron Hoban for a district semifinal at 6 p.m. Oct. 26.
Steady work in the defensive third — with goalkeeper Kate Kuntz and the backline of Emily Moran, Chloe Wakim and Autumn Warren — made Frania’s goal stand until Winfield provided cushion.
This is the ninth clean sheet of 2020 for Madison, 42nd in the last four seasons — and exemplary work on this night from a veteran group that doesn’t surprise Coach Chad Butler in the least.
“There are very few situations where I would not bet on my defense to come out on top,” Butler said. “They’ve been phenomenal, and they barely have to talk to each other. They just know how to cover, how to move, where everyone is going to be. And they definitely saw it out for us.”
A waterlogged pitch took some of the pace out of the match with service and runs, but the Blue Streaks generated encouraging attacking rhythm and combo work in the first 20-plus minutes and got a goal to show for it.
Freshman Amelia Swinarsk i, who was outstanding throughout with workrate as a center mid, weaved through traffic with a touch on the left side of the box and crossed through the edge of the six for Frania. The junior striker, who made several smart off-ball runs in the match, got a touch for a left-footed tapper inside the right post for her seventh goal of the fall and a 1-0 lead.
“(Swinarski) was crossing in, and I was running in,” Frania said. “I thought I was going to miss it. I’ve been really frustrated lately, because I cannot make a goal. But when I got the goal, it was great.
“I thought we did really good. I think this was one of the best games we’ve played. We moved it around the whole field. At the end, we started to get a little panicked. But once we started playing physical back to them and worked it around, we did really good.”
The Falcons (6-8-3) had the better of the attack for much of the second half, but Madison’s shape and ballwinning was steady.
In the waning moments, Moran had a key intervention and clearance and, with 24 seconds to go, Winfield slotted a strike for her 11th goal of 2020 to ice the result.
A schedule featuring fellow News-Herald coverage area powers such as Kirtland, NDCL, Lake Catholic, Hawken, Mayfield, Chagrin Falls and Kenston ensures, when the moment arrives, the Blue Streaks are tested, poised — and can flex in the defensive third.
“Definitely in my experience, the biggest difference between top teams and the next tier is believ ing you’re going to be the team to win,” Butler said. “And for a long time, we didn’t believe we could win those games. So yeah, scheduling and even hanging with tough teams gives us confidence to come into something like this, against a team we’ve never seen, and feel like we can see it out.”